Tension is rising in the Venezuelan capital. Faced with a call for demonstrations from the opposition, Nicolas Maduro, who is preparing to begin a third consecutive term, deployed the army, the police, the militias, as well as agents of the intelligence services, and other colectivos (paramilitaries ). They move around town, sometimes wearing hoods, and public television broadcasts images of the police on a loop.
Accused of fraud by the opposition, Nicolas Maduro declared: “I am here by the will of Almighty God, by the will of our people.” Parliament, where the government has an absolute majority, the opposition having boycotted the 2020 legislative elections, invited Nicolas Maduro at noon on Friday (5 p.m. French time) for the inauguration ceremony in front of the deputies. But the opposition, which claims victory in the July 28 elections, called for nationwide protests on Thursday in support of “president-elect” Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in an attempt to derail the swearing-in process. The government responded to this call by also summoning its supporters, while massively deploying troops in Caracas.
National military-police plan
President Maduro has activated a national military-police plan, while the authorities have already carried out a massive deployment of security forces in the capital. This plan includes “all armed forces, militia and all police forces.” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello promises firmness: “Fascists! Terrorists! If you dare, you will regret it for the rest of your life because we will defend the Palace, but then we will go on the counterattack.”
For his part, opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is on an international tour to secure support. He visited Argentina, Uruguay and the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden, congressional representatives and members of President-elect Donald Trump’s team. “Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia’s strategy is to give momentum to the opposition’s cause and to play a leading role in trying to increase international pressure,” Mariano de Alba told AFP, specialist in international relations. As for the possibility of seeing his promise to take the oath himself come true on January 10 in Caracas, where there is a price on his head for $100,000, “I consider it improbable,” he said.
The socialist president was proclaimed winner of the July election with 52% of the votes by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which however did not make public the minutes of the polling stations, saying it had been the victim of hacking. computer science. The latter is considered not very credible by many observers. The opposition, which claims fraud, published the minutes provided by its scrutineers and assures that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia obtained more than 67% of the votes.
Deadly repression
The repression of post-election demonstrations left 28 dead, 200 injured and saw the arrest of 2,400 people accused of terrorism (around 1,500 were released on parole). Three people died in custody. In this context, many observers wonder if the opposition is capable of mobilizing its supporters on Thursday and “overcoming fear”, in the words of its leader, Maria Corina Machado. The leader, who has been living in hiding for five months, promised to come out so as not to “miss this historic day”. She believes that “the days” of Maduro and “tyranny” are “numbered”.
As on several occasions in recent weeks, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, called in vain on the army, the pillar of power, to rally behind him. The high command rejected it, describing the request as “clownesque”. After Washington, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is getting closer to his country with stops planned in Panama this Wednesday and the Dominican Republic on Thursday. He considered taking a plane to Caracas with a group of former presidents who support him in a bid to take power. “This plane, these crew members, the crew and passengers, must be treated as a foreign force attempting an invasion,” warned Parliament Speaker Jorge Rodriguez.
Coincidence? Pressure ? Gonzalez Urrutia reported the kidnapping of his son-in-law on Tuesday in Caracas by “hooded men”. “My son-in-law Rafael Tudares was kidnapped […] hooded men dressed in black put him into a gold-colored van […] and took him away. He is now missing,” wrote Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on Tuesday on possible to obtain an official reaction.